Sega shifts into 7th gear by releasing Initial D Arcade Stage 7 AA X today. Shuichi Shigeno's manga is nearing its end, so it was time to produce a sequel to Initial D Arcade Stage 6 AA that updates the story mode with the latest events appeared in the manga. The story mode can now be played in teams of 2 and "Project Kanto's fastest" mode is now available in addition to the Tag Battle mode. This cooperative mode consits of 2 on 2 battles: Both races take place simultaneously, one uphill and the other downhill. The "ACE" emblems system is still present but scores are higher when both players catch an emblem of the same colour (gold or silver). 43 cars and 14 courses are featured (against 34 in Initial D 6). Tsuchizaka stage from Initial D 3 returns thanks to fan request. Players can still tune their cars and new accessories (clothing, hairstyles, ...) are available to customize avatars. The online mode is now open to the following countries: Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Macau. Like its predecessor, Initial D Arcade Stage 7 AA X runs on RingEdge. As usual, the opening theme, Cross the X, is composed by m.o.v.e. Another famous Japanese artist has also participated to the game OST: GACKT with the title Jounetsu No Inazuma. Titles form previous editions are back as Remember Me, Night of Fire and a remix of Gamble Rumble.

BlazBlue Chronophantasma is out today. This is the fourth episode of Arc System Works' 2D fighting game series and this is the first out on NESiCAxLive. Fans will be delighted to find again the characters of the series whose artwork and sprites were redrawn. New characters are introduced: Amane Nishiki, Bullet, Azrael and Izayoi (which will be available from December, 12). Two old characters will also return later: Nu-13 on November, 18 and Mu-12 on December, 5. The old characters have been re-balanced and new moves have been added to their movelist. New compositions will appear and old rearranged themes will be included. The stages will be entirely new ones except Rachel's stage. In terms of gameplay, the Gold Break Bursts and Guard Primers were removed. By cons, each character features now an Over-Drive: Over-Drive bar fills over time and when it is full, Over-Drive is activated for 5 seconds: character's strength is increased and he can perform new unique moves. Cruch Trigger replaces the Gold Break Burst, the Heat gauge is divided into 4 parts (2 previously) and to activate the Trigger cruch, the players has to use 1/4 of the gauge and press A+B to crush's opponent's guard. However, this does not work on the Barrier Guard.

Konami's third REFLEC BEAT game will be released tomorrow. It is named REFLEC BEAT colette, collette is a combination of the words "collect" and "palette". The game theme is based on the seasons: cabinet's colors will change with the seasons (currently Winter). This is not the only change due to the season: the playlist changes according to the season! Some cross-over with other BEMANI titles are also planned: pop'n music in Winter, a general BEMANI event in Spring, beatmania IIDX in Summer and beatmania IIDX et en automne c'est avec jubeat in Autumn. Small changes to the gameplay have been done: the timing is tighter than in the previous game, the Chat symbol is expanded, a Clear Gauge Type B is added (an inverted version of the classical gauge that starts at 100% and decreases over the song), the customization interface is redesigned with new options,... The hidden songs from REFLEC BEAT limelight return. Upgrade kits will be available on November 28.

EAG International Expo extends for the first time to social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. This is an opportunity for the organizers to promote the event and to receive feedback and comments from future visitors to the exhibition that will be held from January 22 to 24. It's always difficult for the exhibitors to present their line-up before the show, with new means of communication offered by social networks, they can promote in real-time the products they will show during EAG. Participants who already use Twitter and Facebook can attest of their usefulness: they can discuss products with customers before and even during the show. Furthermore, this is a great way to get in touch with their target audience and make themselves known. EAG 2013 is really a meetings place with the traditional evening party to be held on January 22 immediately after the show. Exhibitors and visitors can meet and make contacts in a relaxed setting. This event will take place at the Fox Bar which is located next to the ExCel and the background music will be provided by The X-Rays, whose repertoire ranges from The Beatles to Beyoncé ...

Mobile Suit Gundam - Senjo no Kizuna new update is out today. The two new mechas added are both coming from the OAV series Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team released between 1996 and 1999. The first is the RGM-79[G] GM Sniper from the Earth Federation and equipped with a long-range beam rifle and a beam saber. The second one is the MS-07H-8 Gouf Flight Type from the Principality of Zeon and equipped woth a 3-barrel 35mm machine gun, a gatling shield and a heat sword.

Today, EXAMU has announced the release of an Arcana Heart 3's update on NESiCAxLive this winter. Based on the console version, Arcana Heart 3 LOVE MAX will support a 16:9 ratio even the game is still in 4:3 ratio, two bands giving information on characters will be added on each side as in The Rumble Fish 2 for NESiCAxLive. A traning mode will be available. Other changes will be done as new moves for each character.

Border Break third upgrade is playable in Japanese arcades since today. The main new feature is the new "Union Battle" game mode: a group of maximum 10 players faces enemy troops controlled by the CPU. Raika, a new mecha and a new map are now available. The new "True Ace" class exceeds the "EX" class. New mechas customisation features were developed and improvements have been made to weapons and chips.